Monday Buzz: 50 questions NRL season will answer
WITH just 10 sleeps to go until the NRL season kicks off, PHIL ROTHFIELD looks at the 50 questions rugby league fans can’t wait to get answered.
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THE Big Bash is long gone. Pakistan have thankfully gone home and the A-League is almost done.
Outside of the wonder horse Winx, the next eight months is all about the greatest game of all — rugby league.
The passion and the pressure, the chaos and controversy, the madness and mayhem.
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We have just 10 sleeps to go until premiers Cronulla (I love typing those words) launch the season in a blockbuster against the Broncos on Thursday night, March 2, at Shark Park.
So here are the 50 questions we can’t wait to have answered.
1 Can Wayne Bennett still coach or has he lost touch with the modern game?
2 Can Brisbane make the finals without the experience of Justin Hodges and Corey Parker?
3 Can Kieran Foran lift the enigmatic Warriors into the top eight, top four or even grand final?
4 Will the Oust Doust campaigners at St George Illawarra finally get their man?
5 What round will Ricky Stuart be fined for referee abuse?
6 When will Ivan Cleary replace Jason Taylor, Paul McGregor, Des Hasler or Trent Barrett?
7 Can the great Billy Slater make a successful comeback at Melbourne Storm?
8 Aaron Woods, Boyd Cordner or Trent Merrin? Who will replace Paul Gallen as the Blues’ State of Origin captain?
9 Can the voice of league, legendary broadcaster Ray Warren, rescue the Channel 9 ratings slide?
10 Will Robbie Farah prove Jason Taylor wrong and have a big year at South Sydney?
11 Will rookie 19-year-old halfback Jai Field emerge as a Dragons saviour?
12. Can the NRL justify its multimillion-dollar investment in the bunker or will it be another weekly lottery?
13 Where will struggling old champ Benji Marshall fit in at the Broncos?
14 What’s Jarryd Hayne’s next dream or will he stay loyal to the Gold Coast?
15 Mitch Pearce, Adam Reynolds or even Nathan Cleary? Who will be the NSW Blues’ halfback?
16 Where will the brilliant Connor Watson play at the Sydney Roosters?
17 Can Cronulla go back-to-back for the first time since the Broncos in 1993?
18 Will the Friday night 6pm timeslot work on Fox Sports and will fans go to the games?
19 What round will we start to complain about Melbourne’s wrestling tackles?
20 Will John Grant say “give me another 12 months” at the end of the season?
21 Can budding superstar Valentine Holmes be a better fullback than Ben Barba?
22 Will James Tedesco overtake Darius Boyd, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis as the game’s No. 1 fullback?
23 Can Canberra prove they’re more than just one-year wonders?
24 Will Jake and Tom Trbojevic both play Origin for the Blues?
25 When will we start complaining about five-day turnarounds?
26 How do we fill the Monday night footy void?
27 Does Saturday night’s 44-0 win over the Raiders prove Newcastle will climb off the bottom of the ladder?
28 Can Tom and George Burgess recapture their form of 2014 at the Rabbitohs?
29 How long until we’re tweeting #nrlincrisis?
30 Will Cameron Smith be allowed to continue to referee games?
31 Can Des Hasler talk Will Hopoate into playing on Sundays, like we’re hearing?
32 Will Wests Tigers recruit Jamal Idris recapture the form that once earnt him a Kangaroos jersey?
33 Can Nathan Peats knock off Farah to be the Blues’ hooker?
34 Is this the year Queensland’s State of Origin superstars will be too old to win another series?
35 Can the Roosters and Rabbitohs recover from poor seasons in 2016?
36 Will Jackson Hastings live up to his boom as a schoolboy superstar at the Sea Eagles?
37 Can Laurie Daley survive as the Blues’ State of Origin coach?
38 Will referees boss Tony Archer ever admit: “We got that decision wrong?”
39 Who can step up and replace Michael Ennis as the biggest pest/character in the game?
40 What round will Gus Gould inevitably shut down his Twitter account?
41 Who will win the Thursday night ratings war between Matty and Fatty, Fletch and Big Marn, Lara and Erin?
42 Will Manly diehards refer to their beloved Brookvale Oval as Lottoland or Brookie?
43 Will we finally get some smart corporate heavyweights on the underperforming independent commission?
44 Which journalist will be the first to write about a State of Origin bolter in round one?
45 Can we get another grand final fairytale to match the past three — the Rabbitohs, Cowboys and Sharks?
46 Will we celebrate or mourn the death of City-Country?
47 How will we fare in the NRL SuperCoach and tipping comps?
48 How many divorces will Fox Sports’ new 24-hour league channel cause?
49 Will Parramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur smile?
50 How much will we save on our electricity bills now the porch lights are off in the Shire?
Bring on the footy.
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